A petition which hopes to be published next week, (it is still going through the Gov Petition Website’s vetting process), will be inviting people to vote NO on the UK leaving the EU, on grounds that it would be a security risk to do so.
The text for this petition, which is not visible yet on the petition website is added here:
Prime Minister, David Cameron is currently fighting to cut migrant benefits for those entering the UK ahead of a referendum which seeks to renegotiate Britain’s membership of the EU. Cameron’s benefits proposals were flatly rejected by Brussels in November last year, and continue to be a major obstacle to negotiating acceptable terms within the EU membership debate.
And whilst economic advantages are usually cited when discussing EU membership, a new set of arguments has surfaced, this time focusing on Terror and national security.
Former director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer has publicly expressed the view that David Cameron’s move to opt out of the EU would put the UK at risk of further acts of Terror and would compromise its ability to respond swiftly to criminals, including those involved with child abuse networks, and cross border paedophiles.
In the Guardian article we link to above, Starmer highlights some benefits of EU collaboration citing Europol, the European police office, in the fight against child abuse. On this point, he says: “[A recent] UK-led operation across 12 countries dealt successfully with a very large child abuse network.. At least 230 children were at risk, including 60 in the UK, and the operation led to the arrest of more than 180 offenders, 121 of whom were arrested in the UK.”
The petition above seeks signatures on much the same grounds.
If you agree with the petition, you can sign here, but please note that as per the Gov Petition website’s terms and conditions, only UK residents and British citizens will be able to do so.
What do you think? Is EU membership essential to developing effective relationships with other European states in the fight against child abuse and other forms of crime, or will leaving the EU make it harder to track and apprehend cross border criminals?
You can see the EU Referendum Act 2015 here.
More about the EU Referendum Act and when it received Royal Assent.
With thanks to Justin for kindly sharing his thought-provoking petition with us.